West Ham complete the transfer of Dimitri Payet

West Ham have completed the signing of the Marseille forward Dimitri Payet. The 28-year-old is estimated to cost the London side approximately  £10.7m for a 5 year deal with an extra 1 year add-on according to the contracts. He would be the second new signing for the new manager, Slaven Bilic.

The Hammer’s co-chairman, David Sullivan said “We have signed a world-class player. If he was 22 he would be £30m plus, but he’s still in his prime.”

Payet seems excited on his new prospects with the team. He was quoted saying to the club’s website “West Ham really showed me that they wanted me to come, both the joint-chairmen [David Gold and David Sullivan] and the manager.”

“That’s very important for me. I was also keen to sign up to a clear project. West Ham’s is very interesting and matches perfectly with my ambitions. I’m an attacking footballer and that they’re counting on me to help achieve that gives me a sense of responsibility. It’s true that it’s taken a little while but that’s normal – negotiations are like that. But now that it’s done, I’m very happy,” Payet stated.

Payet has had a splendid record in Ligue 1. He topped the league’s assists table last season with 16 assists in 36 appearances, which is the 4th highest in European football, behind Kevin De Bruyne, Lionel Messi and Cesc Fabregas. He also scored 7 goals in total for Marseille, which finished 4th in the league. Over the course of his 6 years in Ligue 1 he has also played for St- Etienne and Lille before joining Marseille. Along with these, he has also played 15 national matches for France.

He is known for playing in the midfield, his best position being the traditional number 10 role.  But that doesn’t restrict him as he also finds himself regularly on the wings trying to help the team.  He has a strong work ethic and worked his way into the team after Marcelo Biesla bought him from Lille. He though, has a temperament problem as he often has problems during training and with discipline.

He would be the third signing for the club after the Spanish midfielder Pedro Obiang and Darren Randolph, who is the goalkeeper for the Republic of Ireland.